Seam for sewed articles and method of making same



Jan. 16, 1934. A H D voE 1 ,943,300

SEAM FOR SEWED ARTICLES AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed July 31., 1931ZIIST Patented .lan. 16, 1934 UNITED STATES PATEN'E' OFFECE SEAM FORSEWED ARTICLES AND METHOD OF MAKING SAIWE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to seams for sewed articles and it has for anobject to provide improved seams, adapted to be utilized for eitherornamental or utilitarian purposes.

Another object is to provide a method of making such seams and also toprovide a method of utilizing such seams to effect a desired finish on abody fabric.

Still another object of this invention is to render available animproved blind stitoh seam capable of being made on a sewing machine ata relatively rapid rate, and which, advantageously, may be employed incertain Operations in the manufactu'e or" various articles of wearingapparel, which Operations, heretofore, neoessarily have been performedby hand.

More or less recently the use of a conventional wide hem heretoforeemployed, as for example around the bottom of ladies' light weightdresses and about the edges of handkerchiefs, etc., has, to a largeextent, been discontinued, and in its stead there has come into use aso-called handrolled edge. This, as its name implies, has been made bymanually rolling inwardly the marginal portion of the fabric to befinished, thereby forming a relatively narrow roll enclosing the rawedge of the fabric. Frequently, this roll is not greater than inch inwidth. To maintain the roll in place on the body fabric and to preventit from unrolling during use, it is subsequently stitched to the bodyiabric. Inasmuch as the appearance of stitches on the outside of thefinished product is undesirable and, in the absence of any suitableblind stitoh seam 35 which could be made by a machine for this Work,

it has been customary and necessary to stitoh the rolled edge to thebody fabric by hand sewing. In this operation the seamstress passes herneedle through the innermost edge of the roll and partially through thebody fabric, the needle preferably entering and emerging from the bodyfabric on the same side thereof, without passing therethrough. A seriesof such stitches placed at suitable intervals constitute a seamcomprising spaced blind stitches connected together by an interveningthread.

Each of the various types of available blindstitoh machines has beentried for this particular operation but none has been oapable ofproducing a seam satisfactory for the purpose. Hand stitching of therolled edge has, thereiore,

continued to be employed.

As is well understood, hand sewing is a relatively slow and tediousoperation. consequently, it is unduly costly and, therefore, in quantityproduction, is avoided whenever and wherever pos- 4 ple, a needle threadand a bobbin thread or a needle thread and a looper thread, andcomprises a plurality of blind tacking stitches engaging the fabric atspaced intervals. Intermediate the stitches the two threads extendlengthwise of the seam and, as shown in certain ones of the figures,later to be referred to, may be twisted together or concatenated to forma connecting bar. When stitching upon very thin material, which isextremely diifcult to split with a needle, the tacking stitches may passthrough the fabrio and a minute stitoh may appear on the outside of thearticle. These stitches, however, will be a substantial distance apartand will be inoonspicuous and difiicult to see.

This seam readily may be made by a sewing machine by so bending thefabrio that a reciprocatory needle may be caused to enter and emergefrom the same side of the fabric without passing through it. The loop ofthe needle thread is taken by a suitable looper, hook or shuttle and asecond thread is engaged therewith. This forms a stitoh. After eachstitoh has been made, the needle may be given a plurality ofreciprocations without engaging the fabric. This may be efiected eitherby shifting the fabric out of the path of the needle or by shifting theneedle away from the fabric. At each of these reoiprocations the needlethread loop is taken by the looper, hook or shuttle and the oomplementallower thread is' engaged therewith In the absence of the fabric, nostitoh is formed during these reciprocations, and the action is suchthat the two threads are twisted together. After a suitable number oftwists have been made, the needle is oaused again to engage the fabricand another e stitoh is formed. The two twisted threads connecting thestitches produce an ornamental efiect.

When this seam is utilized to stitoh the socalled rolled edge, itafiords all the advantages of the hand seam and, to a great eXtent,simulates the appearance of the latter. While the method and seamsprovided by this invention are particularly useful for stitchingrelatively narrow hems or rolled edges, it is to be understood that theinvention is in nowise limited to this use but is also adaptable torelatively wide hems.

When utilized for ornamental purposes, the appearance of the seam may beimproved by employing differently colored threads or by utilizingthreads of unequal size.

various forms of my improved seam and the method-s whereby they may bemade and utilized are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming apart of this disclosure, and in such drawing:-

Figure l is a face View of one form of my improved seam as applied to abody fabric for ornamental purposes.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View of the seam shown in Fig. 1, showing,in full lines, the fabric folded, as during the stitching operation,and, in dotted lines, the fabric opened out as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic View illustrating one `method of causing thestitch forming mechanism to make the stitches and twists as shown inFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a View of the seam shown in Fig. 1, when utilized to stitch arolled or folded edge to the body fabric in simulation of a "hand-rollededge".

Fig. 5 illustrates a method of producing the seam shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 4 but showing the entwined threadsengaging laments picked up from the side of the fold or roll.

Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional views illustrating the lateral manipulationof the fabric relative to the needle, to produce the seam shown in Fig.6.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, and first particularly toFigs. l and 3, my improved seam is disclosed as comprising threads 1 and2 passing through a body fabric a, and looped together at spacedintervals, as at 3, in the form of conventional lock stitches.Intermediate the stitches 3 the threads are twisted together a pluralityof times, as shown at 4, thereby forming an ornamental bar arranged uponone face of the fabric. This seam Conveniently may be made, as shown inFig. 3, by folding the body fabric and causing a conventional sewingmachine needle n to make a stitch through the folded edge, as indicatedat 5, then causing the needle to make a plurality of reciprocations overthe edge of the fabric, as indicated at 5, and then again through thefabric as at 5 It is to be understood that the fabric is given `feedingmovements between successive reciproeations of the needle and that ateach reciprocation of the needle, its thread is taken by a suitable looptaker or shuttle and a bobbin thread is engaged therewith, all in amanner common to lock stitch sewing machines. After the seam has beencompleted, the fabric may be unfolded as shown in Fig. 1, and in dottedlines in Fig. 2, to place the ornamental seam on the face of the fabric.The stitches may be made through the fold and over the edge thereofeither by shifting the fabric relative to the needle or by shifting thestitch forming mechanisn relative to the fabric.

Fig. 4 discloses my improved seam as applied to a rolled or folded edge7 of a body fabric. In this form the two threads are locked together at3 within the rolled edge '7 and one thread engages the body fabricadiacent the roll to form a blind tacking stitch, thereby to prevent thefold from unrolling. Intermedate the stitches the two threads aretwisted together in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 1. This seammay be made, as shown in Fig. 5, by causing the needle on certain onesof its strokes to pass through a portion of the body fabric and througha folded edge thereof and, on other strokes, to pass over the foldededge as shown in dotted lines. Fig. 5 shows the marginal portion of thefabric folded and resiing upon a conventional throat-plate 8, having aneedle-hole 9' for the passage of the needle. Any suitable or preferredhenmer or folder may be applied to the sewing machine, to give to thefabric the desired roll or the roll may be made by hand. Beneath thethroat-plate the needle thread loop is taken by a conventional looptaker 9, or shuttle, and passed about a suitable bobbin in a mannercommon to lock stitch sewing machines.

It will be understood that, when the needle reoiprocates outside thefolded edge and the needle thread loop is passed about the bobbin, theaction is such that, instead of a stitch being formed, the needle andbobbin threads are merely twisted together, as shown at 4.

The stitch shown in Fig. 4 is well suited for` simulating the so-called"hand rolled edge hereinbefore described.

In Fig. 6 there is disolosed a seam generally similar to that shown inFig. 4 and differing therefrom only in that the twisted threadsintermediate the stitches B are attached by fine filaments f of thefabric to the edge of the roll on the body fabric. This is effected, asshown in Fgs. 7 and 8, by causing the needle first to engage the fabric,as shown in Fig. 7, and thereafter to make a plurality of reciprocationsduring each of which it barely engages the edge of the folds, as shownin Fg. 8. These last named reciprocations cause the needle to pick off,from the 'body fabric, fine laments of thread which aford insufiicientbody to cause the threads to assume and maintain the form of a lockstitch. These thread filaments, therefore, are merely bound in with thethreads as they are twisted together. Although these filaments may beextremely fine and hardly visible, they serve to tie the twisted threadsto the rolled edge and hold them against movement relative thei-eto.

Having thus revealed this invention, I claim as new and desire byLetters Patent of United States:--

1. A lock stitch seam comprising two threads engaging a fabric at spacedintervals and twisted together a plurality of times between adjacentpoints of engagement.

2. A lock stitch seam comprising two complemental threads connectedtogether at spaced points, one of said threads engaging a fabric at saidspaced points, said two threads being twisted together a plurality oftimes between the points where they are connected.

3. A nishing seam for a fabric having a rolled edge comprising twothreads connected together in said rolled edge, at spaced intervals, byconventional lock stitches, one of said threads also engaging the bodyabric to secure the rolled 'edge thereto, said two threads being twistedtogether a plurality of times between successive stitches.

4. A blind stitch seam for a body fabric having a rolled edge,comprising two threads Secured together at spaced intervals in saidrolled edge, one of said threads passing partially through said bodyfabric and emerging on the same side thereof at which it entered withoutpenetrating the fabric, the other of said threads extending over an edgeof the roll, and being twisted together rio With the other thread apluralty of times intermediate adjacent points of engagement with saidbody fabric and rolled edge.

5. A seam for a body fabric having a rolled edge comprising two threadsengaging the roll and the body fabric to a substancial depth at spacedintervais and connected together at said points of engagement as lockedstitches, said threads also engaging said roll a plurality of timesintermediate said stitches to a depth materially less than at saidstitches, the two threads thereby being twisted together a plurality oftimes intermediate said siitches and engaging between them threadfilaments connected to said roll.

6. The method of making a seam and attaching it to a body fabric whichconsists in folding the marginal portion of the fabric, causing areciprocatng needle to penetrate said fold, and to form a thread loop,engaging a second thread with the needle thread loop and forming a lockstitch, causing the needle to effect a plurality of reciprocations eachpenetrating the fold to a less depth than the first named penetration,thereby, at each of the latter reciprocations causing the needle to pickoff from said fold thread filaments attached thereto and to twist thetwo threads together and to secure therebetween the thread filamentsattached to said fold and picled off by said needle and again causingthe needle to penetrate the fabric to the greater depth thereby to forma second lock stitch.

ALBERT H. DE VOE`

